Wicksteed Park’s part in the wartime effort

Michael Whelan

When thousands of US servicemen arrived in this country during the Second World War some of them were billeted at the family leisure park.

Last week’s Wicksteed at War event gave visitors to the historic park an insight into what life was like in the 1940s – but some of those visiting were probably not aware that the park itself played a small role in the conflict.

Soldiers marching through Gold Street in Kettering

When the US joined the war effort, thousands of servicemen flooded into the UK and were billeted all over the country.

Wicksteed Park’s large pavilion was the perfect venue and the park hosted both UK and US units.

Towards the end of the war, between 200 and 300 black US servicemen were stationed there, sleeping in rows on mattresses on the floor.

Their unit performed haulage duties – transporting items to about a dozen US air bases in the Midlands at that time.

In 2000, Kettering man Allah Buksh, who was an evacuee living in Kettering during the war, said he had become drawn to the men and would often visit them there.

He said: “Ingratiating myself into their company I regularly enjoyed eating with the soldiers, especially welcome as rations were short.